Infotech Oulu Lecture Series
The HomeHelper in Vancouver Canada: useability testing of a prototype communication system for daily living tasks for older adults
Lecturer: Ph.D. James Watzke: British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver, Canada
Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Time: 10.30 - 11.30
Room: Saalastinsali, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1
Tervetuloa Easy-hankkeen seminaariin!
12.10.2004 klo 10.15 - 13.00
Oulun yliopisto, Saalastinsali, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1
Oulun ja Lapin yliopiston yhteisessä Easy-hankkeessa kehitettiin ja testattiin kuvapuhelinyhteyteen perustuvia hyvinvointipalveluita ikääntyneille. Näiden palveluiden koekäyttöjaksot toteutettiin Ristijärvellä aidoissa käyttöympäristöissä sekä Vancouverissa laboratorio-olosuhteissa. Seminaarissa esitetään sekä Ristijärvellä että Vancouverissa toteutettujen tutkimusten keskeiset tulokset.
Ohjelma
10.15 - 10.30 Tilaisuuden avaus, Professori Juha Röning, Oulun Yliopisto
10.30 - 11.30 Ph.D. James Watzke: British Columbia Institute of Technology
"The HomeHelper in Vancouver Canada: Useability Testing of a Prototype Communication System for Daily Living Tasks for Older Adults"
11.30 - 12.00 Tutkija Leena Rusanen, Oulun Yliopisto
"Tuloksia kuvapuhelinyhteyteen perustuvien hyvinvointipalveluiden testauksesta Ristijärvellä"
12.00 - Keskustelua
The HomeHelper in Vancouver Canada: Useability testing of a prototype communication system for daily living tasks for older adults
Summary
As part of the much larger Finnish project (the EASY Project), this presentation will focus on a Canadian pilot test of a prototype daily living communication system (the HomeHelper). Health researchers from the British Columbia Institute of Technology duplicated the same research protocol as was executed in Ristajarvi Finland. That is, three daily living activities (a health appointment, grocery shopping, and church service) were simulated via a wireless interaction (HomeHelper) with 19 seniors from Vancouver in a three-stage useability testing protocol: Stage 1 featured researcher-participant training and data collection; Stage 2 used focus group methods; and Stage 3 utilized "peer tutoring" as a way to introduce the technology to novice seniors. Key findings from all three stages were: 1) In general, seniors responded positively to the technology (HomeHelper); 2) The Vancouver participants felt the technology would only be attractive to seniors that were were frail and immobile (which the Vancouver sample was not); and 3) In terms of the most effective teaching methods, there appeared to be no difference between the researcher-assisted and peer-tutoring methods (they were both equally effective). The presentation will also discuss lessons learned from this innovative international comparison study, and future directions that this research might take.
BRIEF BIO & INTRODUCTION
James Watzke, PhD
Associate Director, Human Factors Health Technology Research Group Technology Centre, British Columbia Institute of Technology 7th Floor, Downtown Campus 555 Seymour Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6B 3H6
Tel: (604) 412-7718
Fax: (604) 663-4874
E-Mail: james_watzke bcit.ca
James has been researching ways to make environments and products work better for seniors and persons with disabilities for over 20 years now.
After completing his undergraduate work at U.C. Berkeley, he went on to complete a Ph.D. in "Environmental Psychology" from the University of Lund in Sweden. Dr. Watzke has conducted, presented, and published his work in Sweden, the U.S, and Canada. His special research interests include aging, disability, assistive technology; useability testing and product evaluation; and injury prevention to older adults and health care workers.
Dr. Watzke joined the British Columbia Institute of Technology in the Fall of 1998 as Project Leader for the Dr. Tong Louie Living Laboratory – a unique full-scale simulation facility that conducts research and development activities on age and disability sensitive environments and products.
James is a member of Canada Standards Association’s Strategic Steering Committee on Community Safety and Well Being, and is the current British Columbia-Yukon Regional President of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists. He is also the Chair of SOLUTIONS and PROTOgé, two innovative programs that help expose British Columbia’s post secondary students to the importance of assistive devices.
Selected Research Projects
PI on Aging Employees with Mobility Impairments: Changing Behaviours to Solve Workplace Accommodation Challenges. Key Partner: Neil Squire Foundation; Funder: HRDC- Office for Disability Issues (present).
PI on The Home Helper: A Canadian Exploration of Video Phone Technology to Improve the Daily Lives of Isolated Seniors. Key Partners: Univ. of Oulu & Univ. of Lapland; Funder: National Technology of Finland (Tekes) (present).
Co-PI (PI: D. Stienstra, U. Manitoba) New Technologies and People with Disabilities Research Alliance. Key BC Partner: Neil Squire Foundation; Funder: SSHRC, Innovative Economy Program (present).
PI on Development of an Improved Vibrostimulation Device for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury. Key Partners: S. Elliot & GF Strong Sexual Health Clinicians; Funder: BC Neurotrauma Fund (present).
Core Team Member: Development and Evaluation of an Affordable, Portable, and Functional Client Lifting Device for Residential Environments; Workers Compensation Board of BC (present).
PI on project entitled Is There a Cane in Your Closet? A national Public Service Announcement campaign to encourage positive use of assistive devices by Canadian seniors and Veterans, Health Canada & Veterans Affairs Canada (2002-2004).
Project Leader on a project entitled Design for Aging: Process for Product Assessment, Health Canada & Canadian Standards Association, (2003).
Project Leader; Evaluation of a Prototype Accessible Interface for Palm PCs for Persons with Disabilities, Neil Squire Foundation & BC Neurotrauma Initiative, (2003).
Project Leader; Development of Performance Requirements for Establishing Standards for Accessibility for Point of Sale (debit card) Devices; Canadian Bankers Association, (2001-2002).
Program Leader for the PROTOgé, a Student Mentoring Program for the Commercialization of Assistive Device Prototypes, BC Information, Science, and Technology Agency, (1999-present).
Selected Publications
Watzke, J. (in press). The Dr. Tong Louie Living Laboratory: A Unique Facility for the Research & Development of Assistive Technology. In S. Kwon & D. Burdick (Eds.) Gerotechnology: Research and Practice in Technology and Aging. Springer Publishing: New York.
Heacock, H., Paris-Seeley, N., Tokuno, C., Frederking, S., Keane, B., Mattie, J., Kanigan, R., Watzke, J. (2004). Development and evaluation of an affordable lift device to reduce musculoskeletal injuries among home support workers. Applied Ergonomics, July pp. 393-399.
Watzke, J (2002). Assistive Technology for Older Adults: Challenges of Product Development and Evaluation. Gerontechnology, 2(1), 68-76.
Watzke, J. & Kemp, B. (1998). Safety for Older Adults: The Role of Technology and the Home Environment. In R. Cottrell (Ed.) Perspectives on Purposeful Activity: Foundations and Future in Occupational Therapy. AOTA, Washington, D.C. (This chapter was previously published in Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation,1992, 7,(4), 9-21).
Watzke, J. (1997). Older adults' responses to an automated integrated environmental control device: The case of the Remote Gateway. Technology and Disability, 7, 103-114.
Infotech Oulu Lecture Series
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